National Republican., 1887-01-25
The Production of Sugar.

the amount Of beet root sugar produced In
the season in 1867 exceeds the cane
sugar by 100000 metric tons (2,20t6
pounds), or, In other words, more than half
the sugar used in commerce is extracted
from the beet. The manufacture Of beet
sugar Is exclusively European industry;
1t was fostered and nurtured by government
in its infancy until now, having reached Its
manhood, IL is one of the main stays and
sources Of great revenue In Austria, Ger.
many, and France, and as Mr. Dodge perti-
nently remarks "by indomltable perseyer.
ence, with the aid of bountles by govern
ments, the sugar of bects has nearly driven
cane sugar to the wall" The NATIONAL
REPUBLICAN has, in its earnest and consist
ent desire to relieve the people of irksome
taxation, taken the bold stand to remove
the duties on sugar, and we 20 further, and
advocate bounty for sugar produced in
our own country.
1t seems to us that the manufacture OF
beet sugar should flourish in the United
States as well as In Europe but we are not
unmindful of the fact that the great ques.
ton will not be where to get the capital,
hub thC uttlsg hIl ltt lulttI eau DC IdlSJu
only by arduous labor.
Even IN the beet growing districts of
Europe, with It's cheap labor, many facto-
ries have had to succumb owing to inability
to obtain beets, and in general the only
successful factories are those upon the
"beet stock" plan, that is to say, where
each shareholder is required to furnish SO
many beets per share. The farmers are,
therefore, in reality the manufacturers, and
since they obtain the profits of the manu-
facture they are the most Interested in rails
ing good beets at nominal price.
1t is nearly one hundred years since Mar
| quardt discovered that saccharine matter
could be extracted from beets. In this
| country n tariff has been maintained on
sugar since the foundation of the govern.
ment, and the duty on sugar to-day equals
an ad valorem duty of about 10 per cent,
| yet, according to Prof. Dodge, of the total
consumption in this country of 1,245,574
tons in 1856, but some 10000 tons, or about
8 per cent, were produced here. Again,
Prof. Dodge says, our consumption OF
sugar will in few years amount to 1000, 900
tons. This goes to show that, while the
consumption of sugar is sure to increase
there is no prospect that the production
here will also increase correspondence
since our production has already decreased
from 35 to 8 per cent. Of our consump.
tion under our method Of protection.
Hundreds Of our young men have
been educated In the technical schools OF
Germany for the manufacture of sugar
The machinery imported for beet sugar
manufacture has been admitted free. We
have but one beet-root sugar factory In this
country, and that is located in California,
where 1t has to compete with free sugar
from the Sandwich Islands. This factory
| produces the sugar at cost of 400 cents per
! pound, or in round numbers, say, cents
| per pound. The simple question for the
| American people to decide is, whether this
food tax upon the masses shall be con-
tinued, when there is surplus revenue of
| $l25, 100000 per annum, for the purpose of
encouraging the production of sugarP We
have had trial In producing cane and
beet.root sugar protected with high duties,
with machinery imported free, aud only
produced, according to Prof. Dodge, per
cent. of what we now consume. 1t now
remains to adopt the plan of free sugar and
pay bountles.
The following is what Prof. Dodge says
upon the subject:
The production of cane sugar has been car.
red on in the West Indies, Brazil, East In
dies, and other contrles, largely by slave labor,
with clumsy machinery and wasteful pro.
cesses. 1t has not been the result OF very ad.
vanced mechanism or science, though there
| has been progress and improvement 1t is
claimed that little more than half the sugar
is extracted in the Louisiana manufacture.
| There is room for vast improvement, even in
this country, that should cheaper the cost of
the product, and give adequate profit to the
| business
Ofthe commercially reported sugar of the
world half is now made in Europe where, at
the beginning OF the century, its experimental
cost was perhaps not less than dollar per
pound and scarcely known except In the
laboratories OF chemists BY indomitable per-
severance, with the aid OF bouuties by the
governments, the sugar of beets has nearly
"driyen to the wall" the cane product grown
by low.priced and comparatively unpro-
ductive labor, reducing to an unprecedented
figure the price, and revolutionizlng COM
merce In sugar.
4
rapidly increasing, amounting to about one
fourth Of all the sugar reported from the coun-
tries OF principal production, according to the
table of NJ. LIGHT, the European author.
Iy on this subject. Our consumption in 1885,
Is reported at 1,2i5,5H tons, mostly cane sugar,
but ,l25 tons of 1t beet sugar from Europe
1t is a serious reflection on American enter
prise that this industry should remain In O
languishing condition, unable to compete with
foreign effort in this line, at the very momen
that Europe is loud in outcry against the dis
astrous effects OF American competition in the
products Of agriculture. Within twenty-fiv,
years more than two million tons will be re-
quired, almost sufficient to swallow up the
present production Of beet sugar, or the whole
of the present cane sugar Of commerce. At
time when labor is In excess OF demand anC
corn and cotton and wheat and other old
staples of a primitive agriculture exceed tn,
wants Of domestic and foreign markets, We
scour the world for food products, costing NOR
than O0,o0O,0 cooper annun the larger portion
of which should be produced in the UniteC
States. THIS primitive and unenterprisinI
situation must be surmounted by more skill
iul, scientific, and inventive agriculture.
|
THE Florida Times Union prints an argu-